The Power of Processes: Optimizing Your Workflow for Business Growth

As a business owner, you know how important it is for your company to run smoothly and efficiently. You likely already have processes in place that help to support that. However, like life, best practices for business processes are always changing. To remain competitive in this ever-changing landscape, you need to streamline your workflow processes. To help you do just that, we’ve put together some actionable insights to get you started!

Workflow Optimization: More Than A Buzzword

Workflow optimization removes bottlenecks to increase efficiency and save time, resources, and money. It requires a human- and process-centred strategy that simplifies workflow.

In other words, your goal should be to increase your team's productivity in a way that is

• ➔ Faster
• ➔ Cheaper
• ➔ Smoother
• ➔ More efficient

To get the most out of your team, you need to optimize their processes and give them the right tools and information to help them succeed. This means committing to continuous improvement and being open to change when circumstances require it.

Do Your Processes Need an Overhaul? Maybe…
If you’re wondering whether your business processes need an overhaul, ask yourself if any of these following key indicators frequently happen in your workplace:

• Low productivity or slow output: Is low productivity or slow output hurting your bottom line? Do you feel that your team should be able to work more efficiently?
• High levels of waste or rework: Why does it take meetings upon meetings to move things forward?
• Frequent errors or mistakes: Is your team rushing through work, causing embarrassing issues to arise?
• Lack of visibility or transparency into the workflow: Do you keep looking for the bottleneck but can’t find it? Or is your team unaware they are causing hold-ups?
• Inability to meet customer demands or deadlines: How is your customer retention and turnover? Could it be improved?

Poor workflow processes can hurt your bottom line and hold back growth. However, by taking the steps listed below now, you can identify and fix inefficiencies, scale your business, and save money. In short, workflow optimization is a smart investment for any business looking to grow.

Steps you Can Take Now to Improve Workflow Optimization

We know there is a multitude of tasks that require processes in all aspects of your business, however, since we at Givens LLP are accountants who excel at providing strategic accounting advice, we are going to focus on that – your accounting. After all, poor accounting processes could lead to cash flow issues, credit problems, paying more taxes than you should, and much more. Below are some actionable steps that you can take right now to improve your workflow optimization!

1. Define what your current process is.
   Look at all aspects of your current process, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and sales tax filings. Outline team members that work at each stage.
2. Determine who does what AND how they interact.
   Now that you’ve defined your current workflow, it’s time to determine how your teams work together. Identify any potential inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Then, and most importantly, ask yourself, “where can I automate tasks”?
3. Use technology!
   This cannot be stressed enough. Workflow management software can simplify processes, centralize information, and improve consistency and quality. For your accounting needs, there are many affordable (and even free!) options out there that will streamline your bookkeeping and accounting. If you’re unsure where to start, we can help.
4. Don’t set it and forget it.
   Once you’ve established your workflows, tracking and measuring success and identifying improvement opportunities are essential. There will always be room for improvement, so never set it and forget it.